


dread in my heart

by ghostknife



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Other, Pre-Relationship, post ep 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 06:51:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13875474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostknife/pseuds/ghostknife
Summary: Molly is Caleb's shoulder to cry on after the incident in the mines outside of Alfield.[post episode 7]





	dread in my heart

**Author's Note:**

> After I watched episode 7, I just had to write some Caleb and Molly. I started this before episode 8 so the events conflict with canon a bit.

Molly was far too familiar with the look spread across Caleb’s face after he felled the priest in the mines. Molly knew the tightness in one’s chest that came with it, knew the fear and the pain and the lack of control, too. He’d been there before, with painful memories flooding back and letting the panic take over him as he wanted to do nothing more than shut down.

Amidst the celebration, Caleb had been rather distant, for the most part. He engaged those around him, sure, but the wizard seemed to go deeper into his thoughts every now and again, the fear reemerging in his eyes. Nott was worried about Caleb, of course, but he insisted she enjoy her night (“Our victory was because of you, after all”). So she did celebrate, though she decided to stay alongside her friend for the most part. When Nott noticed Caleb drifting off to his thoughts, she tried her best to bring him out of it; she’d hold his hand or grasp his arm and try to talk him back to the present.

Jester eventually tried to whisk Nott over to the bar, though she did protest leaving Caleb behind. He insisted once again that she go have some fun, Jester agreeing with the sentiment before they walked up to the bar to join Beau. Not too long after, Molly noticed Caleb slip away towards his room at the tavern.

Molly knew, so it was an obvious choice to go keep Caleb company.

After saying his goodnights to everyone, Molly made his way upstairs and up to Caleb’s door. He didn’t bother knocking because he knew he wouldn’t get a response, anyway, so instead he just opened the door gingerly, trying to be unobtrusive enough to avoid spooking Caleb too much. The wizard sat on the bed, eyes snapping over to Molly as he closed the door behind him. The eye contact didn’t last for long, however, as Caleb’s gaze eventually drifted back to the foot of his bed. 

Molly kicked off his boots before sitting on the bed next to Caleb, making sure to leave some space between each other.

“Hey.” Caleb looked at Molly out of the corner of his eye in acknowledgment. “Didn’t want to leave you by yourself. In my experience, it just makes the thoughts worse.”

Molly tapped Caleb’s hand that lay next to him on the bed. When he looked down at their hands, Molly up-turned his palm, a quiet way of asking Caleb if he would like to hold hands. His hand twitched for a second, reluctant, before he threading his fingers between the tiefling’s and resting them on the bed. Caleb weakly squeezed Molly’s hand as a wordless thanks for his presence before his eyes trained in front of himself again, though perhaps it was more out of awkwardness than his state of mind.

“If you want to talk, I’m all ears. And if you don’t want to, or you just can’t right now, I’m still with you, Caleb. I’ll stay with you as long as you’d like. Just know you’re not alone.” Molly paused and squeezed the human’s hand. “I care about you, you know. Everyone else in this weird group does, too, so don’t forget that. We’ve got your back.”

 _“Ich…”_ Caleb struggled, his thoughts still fairly jumbled. “Thank you.”

Caleb squeezed his hand again and Molly smiled softly. He rubbed his thumb on the side of Caleb’s hand absentmindedly as a silence settled between them. Molly could hear Caleb breathing next to him, seeming rather rehearsed - four heart beats on the inhale, a pause, four heart beats on the exhale, a pause, and repeat. They remained like this for sometime, Molly ready to lend Caleb an ear if he desired to speak, granted he had the strength to as well.

The weight of Caleb’s hand left Molly’s palm and he heard the wizard’s breath hitch, causing Molly to turn his gaze back to him. He was able notice the man’s face was wet before Caleb brought his hand up to wipe at his eyes and his breath shook once more. Molly shifted closer to Caleb, not leaving much space between them as he placed a hand on Caleb, gently rubbing circles into his back.

“Is this okay?” Molly’s voice was low.

Caleb nodded and pressed himself just a bit more against the tiefling’s side. Caleb had abandoned any attempt to keep his breath in the previous pattern, now, openly sobbing after he knew Molly had noticed his tears.

“Sorry.” Caleb managed to choke out.

“Don’t be sorry, Caleb.” Molly pressed a kiss onto Caleb’s shoulder. “It’s good to cry. Let it all out.”

Molly continued to murmur words of comfort into Caleb’s ear as he rubbed circles into the man’s shoulder blades. After several minutes, Caleb eventually slumped against the other, resting his head on Molly’s shoulder, and hugged his waist with one arm. Molly brought his hand that had been massaging Caleb’s back up around his shoulders and wrapped his free arm around Caleb. Molly slowly leaned back to rest against the headboard before pressing a soft kiss onto Caleb’s hair. Caleb shuddered as he took a deep breath.

“S’okay, dear, s’okay. You’re here, now. You don’t have to face this alone.” Molly rubbed his hand comfortingly up the wizard’s bicep. “Even if it's something you can’t fight head-on, I’m with you every step of the way, alright?” 

Molly felt Caleb nod against his shoulder. Caleb soon started to rub his thumb up and down the side of Molly’s waist, occasionally moving his own hand to wipe at his eyes before returning it to the same spot and continuing to stroke the blood hunter’s side. As the time passed, Caleb’s breathing slowly started to even out, and his tears seemed to stop. Molly held him close all the while, whispering reassurances and pressing soft kisses into his hair occasionally. 

Molly shifted a bit beneath Caleb, bringing the hand resting on his shoulders down to scratch gently at the small of his back. 

“If you think you’re up to it, perhaps you should try to get some rest.” 

“Ah… _Ja.”_

Caleb nodded against the tiefling’s shoulder in agreement and lingered for a moment, almost reluctant to leave his spot against Molly. As he sat up, his hand hovered around Molly’s waist briefly before Caleb brought it up to rub at his own face. His bright blue eyes were red and irritated now. 

“I can stick around for a while if you want.” Molly said and shifted to face Caleb, hand reaching up to unravel the scarf wrapped around his shoulders.

Caleb’s eyes darted away from the tiefling for a moment and he noticed Caleb chew on his lip, almost squirming under the question.

He nodded after a second. “Um, if you do not mind...”

“I sure don’t.”

Molly smiled softly at Caleb and set the scarf aside after removing it. He pulled at the lapels of Caleb’s coat and began to work it off the man’s shoulders, though Caleb did most of the work removing it, placing it at the foot of the bed with his scarf. Molly settled back against the headboard again, though he slouched further down so his back was vaguely supported by pillows. Caleb shifted his position, too, and began to configure himself so he would be on his side, back facing Molly.

“You’re just gonna pass up a warm body to sleep with? Alright, then.”

Caleb turned his head to look up at Molly, who patted a spot on his lap with a grin. Caleb’s gaze looked at the tiefling’s lap for a moment, then back up at him again. 

“C’mere, there’s plenty of room.” Molly patted his lap again.

Caleb turned over after a moment, positioning himself so his head was now resting just below Molly’s chest, arm slung across the tiefling’s hips. 

“Is this alright?” Caleb asked, voice low.

“Mhm.”

Molly moved his left hand up to stroke through Caleb’s hair. The wizard’s pleased sigh almost went unnoticed, quiet, and Molly couldn’t help but grin as Caleb settled more comfortably against the tiefling. It was incredibly endearing, how fond Caleb seemed to be of contact, despite his lone-wolf vibe he gave off at first impression. Molly had noted how content Caleb was when Jester braided his hair and how he had leaned into the touch ever so slightly. On the road, Caleb would always be curled up with Nott in the mornings before they woke, even though they would sleep back-to-back the night prior. Sometimes he and Molly would brush shoulders, hands skimming off of one another for a brief moment and the most subtle smile would tug at Caleb’s lips.

“Molly?” Caleb piped up after a moment of quiet.

“Yes?” Molly responded, tucking a particular strand of hair behind the man’s ear.

“Would you stay until Nott returns?” Caleb paused. “I cannot stand the thought of being alone right now.” 

“Of course.” Molly stated. “If you prefer, I can sleep here tonight. I don’t think Fjord will miss me too much.”

“That ... would be nice, yes.” Molly’s heart stirred when Caleb reached out for his snake-tattooed hand, intertwining their fingers together. “Thank you for everything, Molly. Words cannot express how grateful I am for your help today.”

“I - You would’ve done the same thing for me, Caleb.” Molly fumbled slightly with his words. “Don’t stress about it too much, yeah?”

“I will try my best. Thank you, again.”

“Of course,” Molly pressed another kiss into Caleb’s hair and he swore he saw Caleb blush, just a bit. “Sweet dreams, Caleb.”

 _“Gute Nacht,_ Molly.”

Molly didn’t let himself sleep until he was sure Caleb was able to fall asleep first. It didn’t take too, long, though; it had been such a long day for the whole group, and an ever longer one than Caleb. He had to be beyond exhausted at this point and Molly was glad the wizard was finally able to find some rest. He hoped would Caleb able to sleep without his past plaguing his thoughts for the rest of the night.

***

Nott wasn’t really surprised when she returned to her room that night to see Caleb settled against Molly’s chest. She could tell they were both asleep at this point, Molly slouched back against the pillows, arm loosely wrapped around Caleb’s shoulders, snoring quietly. Caleb’s chest rose and fell slowly in the familiar tempo Nott had come to associate with the wizard once he fell asleep.

She noticed how Molly and Caleb acted towards one another. It was small things, at first. Caleb would smile whenever Molly would laugh, and whenever Molly touched her friend, a small blush would rise in the tips of his ears. Caleb talked fondly of the tiefling to Nott, telling her how much he revered Molly in almost every aspect, whether it was his way with people or his prowess with his blades. Molly’s bedroll seemed to scooch closer to Caleb’s every night they set up camp, and some nights, the pair would chatter to each other well after Nott fell asleep. Molly seemed to smile at Caleb more often than he did at anyone else, and even touched Caleb more than he did any others in the group. He wasn’t afraid to fix Caleb’s scarf when it was jilted and the wizard never protested when Molly would tuck a wayward strand of hair behind his ear.

Eventually, the small things grew exponentially bigger - Molly body-blocking hits that were destined for Caleb, standing between him and the enemy, or slapping Caleb back to reality before kissing his forehead after the Manticore battle. 

Nott wondered why they just didn’t get together already as she crawled into the bed. After grabbing Caleb’s coat that rested on the foot of the bed, she draped it as best as she could over Caleb and Molly. She whispered a good night to the pair before nestling under the coat a bit herself, falling asleep curled up next to Caleb’s back.

She was glad she had someone else to help keep an eye out for Caleb.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
